Court of Appeals upholds life sentence for Eve Carson’s killer

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (WTVD) — The North Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled to uphold convicted murderer Laurence Lovette Jr.’s life sentence for the 2008 shooting death of UNC student body president Eve Carson.

In Febuary, defense attorneys and state prosecutors argued for and against Lovette receiving the possibility of parole for his role in Carson’s kidnapping and murder.

A judge sentenced Lovette last year to life in prison without the possibility of parole following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said life without the possibility of parole is unconstitutional for anyone under 18.

Lovette was 17 years old at the time of the crime.

Lovette was convicted in December 2011 of first-degree murder in Carson’s 2008 shooting death.

A jury also found Lovette guilty of kidnapping, robbery with firearm, felony larceny and possession of stolen goods.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals later ruled Lovette must be re-sentenced because mitigating factors were not considered before he received his mandatory life sentence.

Prosecutors said during the trial that Lovette and Demario Atwater kidnapped Carson from her Chapel Hill home on March 5, 2008 and then drove her around in her SUV to various ATMs in Chapel Hill and Durham to withdraw cash from her accounts.

They then shot her several times and left her body on a Chapel Hill street.

In 2011, Atwater took a plea deal on federal charges related to the Carson’s kidnapping, carjacking and murder, and is currently serving a life sentence.

On Tuesday, the Court of Appeals released their decision, stating they found no error with Lovette’s case.

Lovette is currently preparing to stand trial this year in the January 2008 shooting death of Duke University grad student Abhijit Mahato.